Hi everyone, After listening to all of your feedback and all of our meetings over the last year or so we have broadened our understanding of what Stroke-Proof is about and come to see that we need to go much further than just prevention. Maggie and I are keen to write Stroke-Proof the book as a guide for Stroke survivors to help navigate the situation they find themselves in post stroke, but we need your help to get it right. We will be pulling in other professionals to help us write this and we'll need you all to tell us if what we are writing is helpful, but firstly we need to make sure we cover the correct areas. After reflecting on all that we have learned from you the below are our proposed chapters. Please let me know if these look right to you or if you think we should add or remove any sections or change the order. Part 1: The Beginning of Recovery 1. A Message of Hope - Recovery is possible - The brain can adapt and rewire - Progress often continues for months and years - Setting realistic expectations - Finding purpose after stroke 2. You're Not Alone - Stroke survivor stories - Different ages and stroke types - Lessons learned from recovery - Common emotional experiences 3. Finding Support - Stroke Association - Different Strokes - Stroke Proof - Online communities - Family and carers - When and where to seek help Part 2: Understanding What Happened 4. What Is a Stroke? - Ischaemic vs haemorrhagic stroke - TIA - What happens inside the brain - Areas of the brain and how they impact symptoms in stroke - Why symptoms vary between individuals - Dementia - the other major brain health condition  5. Tests and Investigations - CT brain - CT angiography - CT perfusion - MRI - Carotid ultrasound - Echocardiogram - Heart rhythm monitoring - Blood tests - What doctors are looking for 6. Why Did My Stroke Happen? - Causes of stroke - Blocked arteries - Atrial fibrillation - Small vessel disease - Rare causes - When no cause is found

Hi everyone. I'm currently reviewing the support that we provide to our stroke survivors in the NHS, through this community and beyond. I have lots of ideas for things that might help, but rather than starting with my ideas I'd like to start by understanding what the biggest issues that need improving are. Please could I ask all of the stroke survivors in this community to think about the following and post your thoughts below, if you are happy to? 1. What did you need after your stroke that wasn't provided for you? 2. How long after your stroke was it when you were ready to really engage with information about your stroke? 3. Did you feel that you understood what to do to prevent a future stroke? 4. What do you wish you were offered/given/told about your stroke but wasn't? 5. If you could go back in time to when you were leaving hospital what would you tell yourself then? 6. If you were designing a service to help stroke survivors what would it look like? 7. What would have made you engage with stroke prevention before your stroke? Thank you for your consideration.

Happy Saturday everybody! Just a quick reminder that we have our monthly prevention catch up tomorrow at 6pm. Link in the calendar section of the website. A chance for us to catch up, see how everybody's getting on and talk about what we're going to do this month to reduce our stroke risk. Feel free to bring your blood pressure monitors along and share your latest blood pressure too!

👋 Welcome to the Stroke-Proof Community! We’re building something special here — a movement to prevent 1 million strokes. To make this a safe, supportive, and inspiring place, we ask every member to live by this simple pledge: 🫶 Our Community Pledge ✔️ Respect first — we’re survivors, families, doctors, and prevention-minded people. Everyone’s story matters. ✔️Engage with with group. This isn't about one doctor lecturing a group. We all have important information and experience to share. ✔️ Evidence over hype — we share strategies backed by science, not fads or fear. To help others tell the difference we cite our sources, even if the source is just personal experience. ✔️ No diagnoses or prescriptions — support each other, but leave medical decisions to your own doctor or message me for a private consultation. ✔️ Protect privacy — what’s shared here, stays here. ✔️ No spam — we’re here to help, not hustle. ✔️ Stay positive & constructive — we’re here to build each other up and take real action. ✔️ Share the message - If you think this group has the potential to help you or others to avoid having a stroke, please share a link to others to join us.